If your goal is to get stronger and build muscle, lifting weights can help. There is a variety of workouts and exercises you can do, but if you’re a newbie or haven’t lifted in a while, we recommend starting with foundational movements such as squats and lunges to build your base, then slowly increasing the intensity of the exercises and weight you’re lifting.
Kelsey Wells, a NASM-certified trainer and the creator of the PWR programs on the Sweat app, created this 20-minute workout “that combines compound and isolated movements to deliver a great muscle burn without the need for high-impact exercises or jumping,” Wells told POPSUGAR.
She added: “If you’re starting on your fitness journey for the first time, working out at home, or if your body needs a break from high-impact workouts, low-impact workouts are a great way for you to improve your fitness and build strength.” And just in case you weren’t sure, low-impact doesn’t mean easy or low-intensity. It just means that the exercises you’ll perform will have a lot less impact on your joints. Does this sound exactly like what you need right now? If so, grab your equipment, because it’s time to work!
Kelsey Wells’s Total-Body Low-Impact Muscle-Building Workout
Equipment needed: one set of medium-weight dumbbells (or a dumbbell substitute) and a yoga mat. Here’s an in-depth guide on how to choose the right weight.
Directions: Before starting the workout, make sure to warm up with three to five minutes of cardio, such as walking or jogging in place. Wells recommends following up your cardio with dynamic stretches like leg swings, arm circles, and torso twists. Here’s a dynamic warmup you can follow.
This workout is broken up into three segments: a superset, a circuit, and an optional burnout. Perform the exercises in the superset back to back three times, taking one minute of rest in between each round. After the superset, advance to the circuit. Perform all three exercises in the circuit once for the designated amount of time, then take one minute of rest. Repeat the circuit for a total of three rounds. After the circuit, complete one round of the optional burnout or cool down and stretch.
Wells recommends walking for three to five minutes to lower your heart rate back to a normal level. She also recommends performing static stretches for a minimum of 20 seconds to lengthen your muscles, improve your flexibility, and prevent injury.
- Superset 1, exercise 1: side-to-front dumbbell raise: 10 reps
- Superset 1, exercise 2: dumbbell skull crusher to bent-leg sit-up: 10 reps
Take one minute of rest in between each round; complete three rounds
- Circuit 1, exercise 1: dumbbell goblet squat: 50 seconds, followed by 10 seconds of rest
- Circuit 1, exercise 2: dumbbell pullover: 50 seconds, followed by 10 seconds of rest
- Circuit 1, exercise 3: alternating lunge with dumbbell: 50 seconds, followed by 10 seconds of rest
Take one minute of rest in between each round; complete three rounds
- Burnout (optional): Russian twist with dumbbell: 60 seconds
Love trying new workouts? Want a community to share your fitness goals with? Come join our Facebook group POPSUGAR Workout Club. There, you can find advice on making the best out of every sweat session and everything else you need to help you on your road to healthy living.